Didi Kuaidi gets license for private car booking in Shanghai

[SHANGHAI] Ride-hailing company Didi Kuaidi said China's largest city has given the company license to book privately-registered cars for trips, a move that will pave the way for expansion of the service in the world's most populous nation.

The rival to Uber Technologies is working with more city governments to adopt a model similar to Shanghai, according to a company statement. The city is committed to meeting its citizens transportation needs, Sun Jianping, director of the Shanghai municipal transportation commission, said in the statement.

The initiative by Shanghai, a traditional testbed for economic policies including China's first free-trade zone, could prompt other cities to follow suit in a boon to the car-hailing industry. It's also a victory for Didi Kuaidi as it awaits the results of China's central government drafting the country's first regulation on ride-hailing services via mobile apps.

Didi Kuaidi, the top car-hailing company in China, said last month it completed a US$3 billion financing round and will have more than US$4 billion in cash reserves after the new funding. The company has been locked in a race with Uber for market share and both are dishing out incentives to attract drivers and riders.

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